Royal Aberdeen

Royal Aberdeen is a venue that is truly befitting of its 'Royal' moniker, and the Balgownie Course is the championship layout at the venue, one that stretches north in an out-and-back fashion.

 

The narrow piece of land on which the course is laid out is barely broad enough for two fairways in places and the 9th green is located as far away from the clubhouse as is possible without setting foot on the neighbouring Murcar Links.

 

Archie Simpson, who also had a say in the design of Murcar, was the man behind the Balgownie Course following the club's move to its current location in the late 19th Century. The architects’ work was later augmented by a third Simpson, Tom, JH Taylor and James Braid, who, failing to see how the routing could be improved, satisfied himself with merely adding further bunkers and length to the existing course. Since then little has changed – until a few years ago.

 

From the back tees, the course now stretches beyond 6,900 yards. In other words, it has been restored to the sort of challenge it was always intended to be. Behind the soft upholstery at the back of the main bar is the 1st tee where an over-enthusiastic or careless practice swing looks as though it could threaten the bay windows.

 

So no matter what your opening drive is like or however embarrassing its result, do not under any account mutter a curse – those enjoying a spot of lunch behind might be listening to every word. Balgownie is principally famous for the strength of its front nine and starts to a round do not come any more inspiring than a downhill par four, played towards the North Sea.


Visit Royal Aberdeen's website here.
Go back to the NCG Top 100s Homepage.
 

Not many courses can make an authentic claim to be where golf began but Royal Aberdeen is one such special place. Historians have long contested the true origins of the Royal & Ancient game. It is known that activities involving clubs and balls were played in France and the Low Countries as early as the 16th Century. To the best of our knowledge it was via ships from these lands that the game was first introduced to the port of Aberdeen.

 

At what point these pastimes became golf as we know it is the crux of the debate, but it is far from fanciful to suggest it developed in its earliest forms right here in the Granite City. The earliest mention dates back to 1565, when it was classified as an ‘unlawful amusement’ in the Aberdeen Register.

 

Some two centuries later, and similar to their peers in Edinburgh at Muirfield, a formal club was formed: The Society of Golfers at Aberdeen. This was in 1780, a date that makes it officially the sixth oldest club in the world.

 

It was 35 years after that before The Aberdeen Golf Club came into existence, playing on the public links, and 1888 when they moved to the present site, north of the city at Balgownie. King Edward VII conferred the royal status early in the 20th Century.

 

Archie Simpson and his brother Robert, from Carnoustie, were commissioned to design the course and, just as Archie’s influence can be seen at nearby Nairn and Cruden Bay – to name but two – the local pros made the most of the quite exceptional piece of land available.

 

Anxious for the links to retain the same challenge to the modern player as it did to its predecessors a century ago, the club employed the services of Donald Steel to make such adjustments as he feels necessary on an ongoing basis. It is a bold step for such a traditional club to take. Steel’s first acts were to build a par 5 on a back nine that previously did not have one, and construct a new green to strengthen the 13th.

 

In recent years, Royal Aberdeen has hosted major championships. It played host to the 2005 Senior British Open, where Tom Watson was the victor as his love affair with links golf continued. The 2011 Walker Cup was held at Royal Aberdeen, as was the Scottish Open in 2014 when Justin Rose was victorious.

 

If it is possible to forget the looming presence of the clubhouse behind, there is a wonderful sense of liberation about driving towards the open fairway below, in the knowledge a great golfing adventure is about to unfold. At 6,900 yards, and played with some form of sea breeze no matter what time of the year, Royal Aberdeen still manages to pack a solid punch.

 

Find the fairway off the tee on the glorious downhill opener, and there's a good chance you'll hit your longest drive of the day. However, you then cannot go long of this green. If you do, you will end up on the beach (or in the sea, depending on the tide). From the 2nd tee, every hole in the front nine apart from the short 8th plays due north along the line of the coast. Desirable landing areas are narrow and subtle angles are often created, as at the par 5 2nd where a pair of bunkers some 50 yards short of the flag make you think twice before hitting a wood towards the green.

 

The tee on the par 3 3rd is almost on the beach, and the hole plays more than 200 yards from the tips. 4 is a lengthy par 4, one of 450 yards, and playing as a dog-leg left. However, with now fairway bunkers, this is one you might feel more confident about when you're stood over the ball. The 5th is one of the shorter par 4s at just 350 yards, along with having one of the wdier landing areas. This is a good chance for birdie, especially if the wind is behind you on the way out. As is the 6th, providing you stay short of the two bunkers in the middle of the fairway around the 280-yard area. This is a par 5 of less than 500 yards, and with space to run up the ball on to the green as well...

 

7 and 9 are both tough par 4s, with the former sitting around the 430-yard mark. The short 8th sits in between them, playing back towards the Irish Sea. Ten bunkers must be avoided, making a hole that is only 150 yards much trickier than you first imagined. Perhaps the 9th is the pick of the front half. Travelling first downhill then up, and gradually turning to the right, this is a hole where every yard must be earned, the green protected at the front by an ominously deep bunker.

 

After turning back for home and away from the boundary with Murcar Links, you play the back nine inland, but that doesn't make it any easier... It starts with arguably the easiest hole on the closing half, the 350-yard par 4 10th. Find the fat part of the fairway, and then make sure you take enough club to carry the burn in front of the green. 11 is the first of two par 3s on the back nine, and at 170 yards, rather gentle in comparison. 

Steel’s work on the 12th and 13th fits seamlessly into the course as a whole. The former is the only par 5 on your way home, and at 540 yards, often into the prevailing wind, it is a proper three-shotter. 13 and 14 are both tough par 4s, with the latter featuring a pair of burns that need to be navigated. One cuts across the fairway, with the other running in front of the putting surface. The 15th is perhaps your final birdie chance. It is 375 yards, and providing you can avoid the trio of fairway traps, the green is somewhat inviting - as long as you don't go right into one of the three deep pot bunkers.

 

In all the appreciation of what has already come before it, the strength of the Balgownie’s finish can be overlooked. On these last three holes the fairways once more become corridors and the land again pitches and falls. In between par 4s of 417 and 440 yards comes a short hole played down towards the sea where the target is a green on three levels. The tee shot is difficult enough, but unless it finds not only the putting surface but the right tier, the second is even harder. It doesn’t get any easier over the final hole, either, but on a course with such rich history, consolation can be taken that you certainly won’t be the first to have struggled home. In one way or another, your golfing ancestors have been engaged in similar ‘unlawful amusements’ round here for the best part of 500 years.
 

Where is Royal Aberdeen located?
Royal Aberdeen sits on the northeastern coastline of Scotland, just a couple of miles north of the centre of Aberdeen itself. The course overlooks the North Sea, with the southern boundary of the property coming from the River Don, which works its way inland from the coast.

 

Thanks to its proximity to the city of Aberdeen and to Bridge of Don, Royal Aberdeen is only seven miles from Aberdeen International Airport - the third busiest airport in the country. Aberdeen and Dyce - the latter being at the airport - are the two nearest train stations to Royal Aberdeen.

 

Are there any other NCG Top 100s: Scotland venues nearby?
The Aberdeenshire coast is a hotbed for world class golf. Murcar Links sits just to the north of Royal Aberdeen, while the likes of Peterhead's Craigewan Course, Trump International's Old Course, Newmachar's Hawkshill Course, and both the Championship Course and St Olaf Course at Cruden Bay are all within 30 miles.

What golf facilities does Royal Aberdeen offer?  
Along with the Balgownie Course, Royal Aberdeen is also home to the Silverburn Course - a short par 64 layout that runs just short of 4,000 yards. There is also a short game area and putting green to hone the skills before taking to the championship links.
  

What are the green fees at Royal Aberdeen?
The price of a green fee at Royal Aberdeen changes throughout the year, depending on the season. It is also different depending on whether it is a weekday or weekend. 

 

For more information on current green fees at Royal Aberdeen, visit their website here. 

Visit Royal Aberdeen's website here.
Go back to the NCG Top 100s Homepage.